There has been a fall in the number of violent deaths and sexual offences in the State for April-June period this year compared to the same quarter for 2007, according to figures released today.
The Central Statistics Office statistics show that the combined number of murder and manslaughter offences fell by two-thirds, from 27 to nine offences, for the second quarter of this year, compared to the 2007 quarter.
In the 12-month period ending in the second quarter 2008, there were 67 murder and manslaughter offences recorded, compared with 78 in the corresponding period ending in the second quarter, 2007, a drop of 14.1 per cent.
In terms of sexual offences, the numbers fell by 13.9 per cent from 332 in April-June last year to 286 for the same period this year.
The biggest fall came in the non-aggravated sexual assault category, which dropped by 11 per cent. The annual totals for sexual offences have dropped consistently since the third quarter of 2007.
However, there were a number of increases in categories between the second quarters of 2007 and 2008. Crimes in the Robbery, Extortion and Hijacking category rose 19 per cent; Burglary and Related Offences rose 15.4 per cent; and Controlled Drug Offences went up 10 per cent.
The figure for murder-threats rose from 32 in April-May 2007 to 71 for the corresponding quarter this year.
Responding to the figures, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, said they showed encouraging trends in a number of significant areas but pinpointed the continuing need for sustained effort to combat crime.
Mr Ahern welcomed the continuation of the trend in the figures for the first quarter of a marked decrease in homicide offences, which dropped by 65.9 per cent in the second quarter and 36 per cent year-on-year.
He noted the fall in the quarter was consistent over the range of homicide offences, with murder down 63.6 per cent, manslaughter down 80 per cent and dangerous driving leading to death down 64.7 per cent.
The Minister added: "I also welcome the reduction of 13.9 per cent in sexual offences. I believe that this figure reflects more accurately the incidence of these reprehensible offences than it did it the past, due to a greater awareness by society of these crimes and a change in attitudes to the reporting of such offences."
But Mr Ahern admitted there were areas where the figures "give rise to concern," noting that assault other than assault causing harm was up 5.8 per cent, non-aggravated burglaries rose 14.3 per cent, theft and related offences increased 5.7 per cent, while criminal damage other than arson was up 2.9 per cent.
Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan called on Fianna Fáil to abandon, in light of the CSO figures, what he said were plans to cut back on Garda overtime and front-line policing.
“At a time when the CSO has revealed big increases in burglaries, thefts and street crime, the Government has ordered Gardaí to cut back on front-line policing. This will reduce Garda visibility, take them away from potential crime scenes and inevitably result in higher crime levels," Mr Flanagan said.
"The CSO shows there should be a particular emphasis on tackling crimes against property and individuals. But the Fianna Fáil Government’s cutbacks in front-line policing will take gardaí off the streets and give criminals even more opportunities to commit crimes."
Joe Costello, Labour spokesman on Europe and human rights, attributed the fall in murder and manslaughter offences to the Garda's Operation Anvil and gardaí being treated by the Government "as a professional, well-resourced police force."
"Unfortunately that success has not been replicated in other areas," he added.
Warning that the drugs problem in many communities is worsening, Mr Costello said: "Minister Ahern needs to accept that the current approach is not working and that we need a change of direction."
He continued: "There remains a significant problem in relation to offences such as public order and vandalism . . . Disorderly conduct offences are up in the second quarter of this year, while over 10,000 instances of vandalism were reported in the same three months."
"The figure bears out the anecdotal evidence that floods into the offices of public representatives across the country, relating to anti-social behaviour, vandalism and intimidation that happens on a daily basis at local level," the Labour TD said.
The increase in the number of drug driving offences has prompted a call for proper detection methods to be put in place. The CSO figures showed that the number of offences for driving or being in charge of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs more that doubled from 152 to 350 between June 2007 and June 2008.
Fine Gael's community affairs spokesman Michael Ring said the 130 per cent rise in drug driving convictions, without proper testing, underestimates the full extent of the problem.
Sinn Féin's justice spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh said there needed to be a Garda re-prioritisation of resources given the increase in drug and gun-related crimes.
He said the Garda had to look at the latest figures both in terms of increases and absolute figures and deploy their resources accordingly.
